It’s hard to put into words exactly how beautiful the scenery was this morning, so just refer to the picture above. The rainbow was a perfect, bright arc through the sky. The ends were actually in the canyon with us. Further out, we could see a very faint second arc. Unfortunately, this meant rain although we hadn’t had any the previous night. It sprinkled very lightly on and off while we packed up and had breakfast. Just as we were finishing it got quite a bit heavier, as though it was driving us to get going. We got to use our homemade ponchos for a while as we crossed the creek canyon and climbed over another saddle.
The trail took us ridge walking for a while, doubling back so we could see the canyon, Mt. San Jacinto, and the desert east of the mountains. It was absolutely beautiful and different from anything we’ve seen yet. The far mountains we were heading into were shrouded in fog and mist – the reason behind our rainbow and our sprinkles this morning. We continued to get drizzled on intermittently and it became sort of a game – stop and put your raingear on, and the rain would stop. Stop to pack it away, and it would start up again.
We dropped down into Mission Creek canyon, which was another new environment for us so far on this hike. For the first time, good on-trail water was plentiful as we crossed and re-crossed the creek. The plants were an unusual mix of trees, grasses, and desert flora. I even saw a cattail. We followed the creek far up the canyon for most of the day before really heading into the mountains. At times the trail was more indistinct than we had ever seen so far. With seasonal flooding this section must be incredibly hard to maintain and we appreciate the all the hours that crews have put into it. When we weren’t sure where to go next we would look for the tall wooden posts that marked the next stretch of tread. Late in the afternoon we got buzzed by a helicopter flying up the canyon. I wondered if they were search and rescue out looking for someone. If so, it must have been obvious that we weren’t them because they didn’t hang around long.
The day ended with some rough climbing as we transitioned to a different landscape. We had our first encounter with poodle dog bush, a nasty skunky-smelling plant that can cause bad rashes if touched. We’ll see this plant again soon – it’s one of the first to repopulate burn areas.
As we climbed over the last few miles we began to see pines, huge cedar trees, and other alpine plants. It was beautiful but we were running out of gas after a long day. We were glad to get to camp and the first water since we left the creek canyon. We even had a picnic table to unload our gear! At this point it doesn’t take much to make us happy. The last stretch of trail was cold as we reached 8000 feet again, but at least it was calm. This will be a great night for bundling up in our bags and our tent will give us a little bit of extra warmth. No wonder this felt like a tough day – we climbed over 6500 feet!
– Posted from the PCT
Location:PCT mile 240
Hi Guys! Everything looks as if it is going GREAT into this 18th day as I’m catching up on my reading. Your blogging is superb. You have me hooked on the mystery and subplot: will Jen’s ankles hold up, will they build up to 25 mile-days, who is that ZZ Top guy wearing Keith’s clothes???
I wanted to warn you: don’t camp in sand beds during rainstorms for the risk of flash floods. The sand is there for that reason. Not to trick you but to show you that water consistently has washed the area bringing down the sands. Survey the area above and past you and study the topo map to ensure you are not at the bottom of those ‘Vs’.
One more warning: stay away from cottonwoods in the early afternoons, an hour before sunset (both rocks and sand) and mornings when it is getting hot, because this is where the rattlers reside. Cottonwoods have nice shade but that’s the standing invitation for those critters and they love to get down into those rootballs! Make a ton of noise before entering the shade and wait a minute for them to scatter or buzz, in which case find another spot since they are defensive when buzzing. Then look carefully where you put down your packs.
Having lived a third of my life in the desert regions you are traversing, I’ve had the acquaintances of several grand-dads of the kids you will be near. Tread lightly but noisy.
Can you post some pictures of the motleys you run into on the trail and give us updates of who you are hiking around. Narrate some of their better stories as you will be hearing some great ones. And DANG! you’ve hit a marvelous stretch of weather and conditions. Perfect timing, indeed. GO!
Thanks for the snake tips, Dogger! You’ll get a kick out of this – yesterday we were enjoying Shepherd’s wonderful trail magic at Hwy 173 (root beer floats!) when the owner of the property next to the trailhead came up on his ATV. Shepherd somehow knew that he trained dogs in rattlesnake avoidance (sound familiar?) and he took us down to see his box of snakes! I can’t complain anymore about not having seen any…it was so cool to see them all buzzing and coiling! He even had a Mojave Green. To top it off, he had a dachshund too. It was total déjà vu after meeting you!